Are you here?
by bookworm563
Summary: What if a demon was summoned? How would you feel? How would you react? How would you get rid of it? How would you stay safe? The turtles have to face that situation... all while being eight. One-shot, please read and review!


**For those who know the 'Charlie, Charlie Pencil Game,' please skip this paragraph or read it if you want. It will explain what it is so you could..you know…actually understand the story. So basically, you have a paper, and you draw four squares, two say yes, two say no. And in the middle of the four squares, you balance two pencils on top of each other. You say "Charlie, Charlie, are you here?" And the pencil supposedly moves to yes, saying Charlie, a demon, haunts you. And he has to say yes when you ask "Can I leave", or else you will stay haunted. If he says yes, you have to burn the paper and break the pencils to stop the curse. If you watch it in Youtube it makes more sense.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT, or the Charlie, Charlie, Pencil Game. Kind of glad I don't own the second one…**

 **Btw, this takes place when the turtles are eight. Just 'cause I didn't feel like writing dialogue like a teenager, and found this more fun writing them as eight. So yay!**

"Guys, are you sure this is going to work?" Leo whispered, breaking the silence as Donnie drew four squares on the sheet of paper.

"Duh, it's going to work! Everyone does it, and it works! Why would it be any different now?" Raph answered, but Leo still looked unsure.

"Why are we even doing this? Why would we want to contact an evil demon and be cursed? Isn't that how people die in the movies?" Mikey whimpered, quivering slightly.

"Because it looks cool, and we'll be able to destroy the paper and pencils when we're done anyways. And plus, movies are just people who act just to freak us out." Raph argued.

"Hand me the two pencils, guys." Donnie interrupted, stopping the argument from going from a petty fight to a full blown battle, full with screams and injuries.

"Right, here." Raph complied, and turned his attention back to his two brothers once Leo started speaking again.

"Guys…maybe Mikey's right. What if this is a bad idea? It seems dangerous, and Splinter says just because the surface does it, doesn't mean we should do it. And he also says not to do what the Internet tells us, so we're breaking his rules. And if he finds out we are breaking his rules, we'll get grounded." Leo warned, a pleading look sparkling in his ocean blue eyes.

"Oh, stop being such a goody-goody, and have fun, Splinter Jr. Plus, I think you are just saying that because you're scared, like Mikey is!" Raph smirked, a challenge hinted in his voice.

"I'm not scared! I'm just saying-" Leo started, but an offended voice cut through.

"Who said I was scared! I'm not scared!" Mikey whisper-shouted.

"So why are you shivering so bad?" Raph opposed, arms crossed, eye ridge raised.

"Because it's cold! And to prove to you I'm not scared, I'll even ask Charlie if he's here! How about that?" Mikey challenged.

"Be my guest." Raph accepted, putting his hands up in mock surrender. It only took a few seconds until what Mikey had just said actually dawned on him, when a horrified expression crossed his face, realizing what he just fell for. But a small, fake smile took its place in the next second, covering at trace of fear, and blocking any chance of teasing.

"Mikey! Are you serious?" Leo asked in disbelief.

Leaning in, Mikey whispered in his ear, "Trust me big bro, I have no idea why I just said that either. But don't tell the others."

Leaning back out, he said louder, so it seemed that's what he told Leo, "What do you mean? Who cares if I ask? We're just going to have some fun."

You know what? I'm out! You three get in trouble if Splinter finds out!" Leo suddenly snapped, shooting up.

"Aw, Leo, don't be like that. Come on, we planned to do this three days ago! Don't back out now!" Donnie spoke up, backing up from the paper, finally being able to balance the two pencils on top of each other.

"Oh, let him go. I think he's just making up excuses to leave because he's too much of a chicken to play." Raph said, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"I'm not a chicken! I just don't want to get in trouble! Excuse me if _I_ follow the rules!" Leo huffed, glaring.

"Yes you are Leo! You're a chicken and you know it! _Bock, bock! Bock, bock, bock!_ " Raph imitated, standing up and making clucking noises, flapping his arms as if they were wings. The smile on his face wasn't hard to miss.

"You know what, I don't care what you say anymore! I'm going to my room, and I'm going to sleep like dad thinks we are doing! Have fun with your game, hope you get haunted for life!" Leo cried, and stormed away, his anger changing the atmosphere for a spilt-second, but then it was silent once more.

"Raph, I don't think you should have gotten Leo that angry. I'm up for this and all, but I don't want to get in trouble. What if he tells Dad?" Donnie questioned nervously.

"Oh, let the baby be! If he tells on us, we tell Dad he was lying. It's the three of us, against him. Who is Dad more likely to believe?"

The brothers seemed at rest with that answer, and the room was put back to its original state, quiet and anticipating.

"So, I guess we start." Donnie stated nervously after awhile.

A reluctant sigh came from Mikey. "Alright, but if I'm haunted forever, I'm blaming you two." And leaving no chance for argument, he faced the paper, and glanced at it wearily.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Raph hissed.

"Okay, I'm going! Relax!" Mikey snapped, took a deep breath, and faced the sheet once more.

"Charlie, Charlie, are you here?" He squeaked. For a moment, the pencil stayed in its place.

"Oh, look! It didn't work! That's a bummer! Oh well, time to go!" Mikey said quickly, getting ready to dash out of the suddenly creepy room.

"No! Wait! Look!" Raph whispered excitedly, pointing at the pencil. Slowly, it wobbled from its aligned position with the bottom pencil, and swayed to one of the squares on the sheet of paper that stated: _Yes._

"Oh my gosh! Did you see that? The pencil moved! It works! Charlie is here!" Raph exclaimed.

"No way! That is so creepy!" Mikey cut in, hands shaking.

"This, this isn't possible! I didn't think it would actually work! It has to be something in the lead, or gravity, or something like that!" Donnie rambled, a bewildered look in his eye.

"Ask another question!" Raph hurried, nudging Mikey.

"Are you crazy? That was way to scary! I'm not talking to him again!" Mikey proclaimed, shaking his head wildly.

"Fine! Then I'll do it!" Raph declared. "What do I ask him?"

"Hm…ask him if he is nice." Mikey said quickly, tightly crossing his fingers.

'What do you think?" Raph said sarcastically, but asked the question anyways.

"Charlie, Charlie, are you nice?" Raph questioned.

For a second, the pencil stayed on yes, but then, quicker than the last time, changed positions, as if the demon was better able to guide the pencil.

 _No._

A vortex of silence came, sucking away every emotion but fear and anticipation. There was no need to talk about what the next question would be.

"Charlie, Charlie, are you mean?"

 _Yes._

That was enough to trigger fear into every young turtles' body.

"Oh my gosh, it's mean! The Internet was right!" Donnie exclaimed.

"Is it going to hurt us?" Mikey whimpered.

"I don't know? Raph, ask it if it's going to hurt us!" Donnie commanded.

Licking his lips, Raph managed to nod throughout the tremors racking through his body.

"Charlie, Charlie, will you hurt us?" Raph asked softly, trying to keep a brave face.

For a moment, the pencil quivered to no, but then shot to the bottom of the sheet, choosing another square.

 _Yes._

Silence echoed through the room, but then the bombs exploded.

"No! I don't want it to hurt us! Go away Charlie! Raph, tell it to go! I don't want to get hurt by an evil demon! Please!" Mikey begged, while Donnie just sat there in silence, mouth agape, but panic swarmed in his eyes. He seemed frozen.

Raph was just quivering head to toe, his mouth was moving but made no sound. He was in complete and utter shock and fear. He didn't expect it to _hurt_ them. They were just suppose to harmlessly ask questions!

"Raph! Ask him to leave already!" Raphael realized he had to do it, Leo wasn't here, _he_ was the oldest here. And as he recalled, it was _his_ idea to do it. _He_ now had to ask the questions, even while knowing the danger.

Raph took a gulp of air in, but it still seemed as if he were choking. He forced himself to speak anyways.

"Ch-Charlie, Charlie, can you l-leave?" Rap stuttered. His hands were now shaking so hard he had to grip to us!

The pencil scooted to the left.

 _No._

Donnie seemed to snap back into reality.

"What does it mean, no? How do we make it go if it won't say goodbye to us! Why isn't he letting us go?" Don shouted.

"I don't want to be haunted! This isn't fun, I wished we never did this!" Mikey wailed.

"Charlie, Charlie, can we _please_ go home? I promise we'll never bother you again!" Raph pleaded, looking hopefully at the pencil. The pencil went up, choosing a square at the top of the paper this time.

 _No._

"Donnie, you try! Maybe it listens to you!" Raph begged desperately, turning to Donnie.

"What? No! Try Mikey again! He's the one who summoned Charlie, maybe he'll say goodbye to Mikey!" Donatello argued.

"Wait, how does that make sense? Wouldn't he be mad at me the most since I was the one that summoned him?" Mikey disagreed frantically.

"Just try it!" Raph yelled, and like his scream was a spell, Mikey reluctantly complied.

"Okay…but…grab my hands first! And don't let go!" Mikey pleaded, turning to his older brothers, eyes wide and terrified. Nodding, they grabbed his hands tightly, and that seemed to ease them all a bit, but that didn't stop the horror running through their veins.

"Charlie, Charlie can you please go? We're sorry for ever calling you, and it was wrong to do that! We learned our lessons, we promise! _Please_ let us go!"

 _No._

"Nothing is working! Were going to die! I haven't invented a world-changing invention yet!" Don cried.

"I'm not going to give up until Charlie goes away! I'm going to try again!" Mikey announced, and attempted once more.

"Charlie, Charlie, we are sorry for whatever we did to upset you and make you want to hurt us. But, we promise we'll never even speak of you again. You are the best demon ever, and we were not worthy of summoning you. We are not even worthy to be speaking to you, but we have to leave. So Charlie, Charlie, can you please go?

Each brother caught their breath, and it seemed as if their hearts were glued in place. If Charlie didn't allow them to go now, they were all out of ideas. It was over. Ever so slightly, the pencil moved to the left, so little that it half of it was on the line

 _Yes._

"Oh my gosh it said yes! Uh…what were we suppose to do? Oh yeah! Goodbye, Charlie." Donnie rushed, saying the words needed to end their horror story.

There was no time to dwell on the fact they could go. It was time to act. "We need to burn it now! And break the pencils! Remember, guys?" Mikey said, his voice an octave higher than usual.

"But Leo's the only one who Dad taught how to use a match, for his birthday to light the candles!" Donnie added.

"So then wake up Leo!" Raph demanded, stating the obvious. _He_ was the oldest here, and he was tired of it. It was time to call the one fit for the job.

Mikey frantically nodded his head, and wasted no time in making a hasten dash to his older brother's room.

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Leo could not go to sleep if his life depended on it. The screams of excitement and fear coming from the room his brothers' occupied room kept snapping him back to reality whenever his body allowed itself to drift off. It was pretty annoying, how his brothers were acting and trying so hard to convince him to go check up on them. They just wanted his attention, but it wasn't going to work, not this time. It wasn't the first time they tried to pull a stunt like this, trying to make a fool of him, but Leo was determined not to show them how much he actually cared what was happening. In fact, he was actually surprised Dad hadn't went to scold them for being so loud at a time like this.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, crashing into the wall, probably so hard it left a dent. Footsteps that sounded of urgency made their way to his bed. Leo couldn't help but roll his eyes once he turned to his side to see who was arriving. Did they seriously send Mikey, while he could have been sleeping, just to fool him? This was getting sad.

Before Leo got a chance to snap at his youngest brother from disturbing him, not that he was doing anything, but disturbing him nevertheless, Mikey started speaking so fast, that all it sounded like was a bunch of noises squished together to make one everlasting sentence. When he finally finished, he went down on his knees, and took loud gulps of air, trying to catch his breath. He looked so exhausted, Leo was reluctant to tell him what he had in mind.

"Ah…sorry to tell you this, but I had no idea what you said." Leo stated bluntly.

Mikey looked up, an expression mixed with horror and annoyance.

"I _said_ , we were playing the Charlie, Charlie game, and to worked! But he said he was going to hurt us! So you have to set the paper on fire with the lighter-thingy, because none of us knows how to work it, but you!" Mikey repeated.

'Wow. All this worry and panic, for this.' At least, that's what Leo knew he should have been thinking. He didn't have time for his brother's childish games and tricks. But, the pure terror attached with his brother's squeaky voice made him think otherwise. Mikey wasn't the best actor when it came to lying, and whenever he might be able to pull it off, a smile would pull at the corner of his lips, until it lined with his eyes and he would burst out laughing. This was not the circumstance. I didn't seem like a lie. This seemed… _different_ somehow. And Leo was perfectly aware of the fact he should deny it, in fact, his brain was screaming it, but his heart and protectiveness for his brothers, even at eight, felt otherwise.

He felt so stupid for what he was about to do.

"Mikey, tell me right now. This better not be a prank. Because fire is very dangerous, and I'll tell Splinter if you guys are lying." Leo warned, knowing his brother was very sensitive to being reprimanded, hating being yelled at. Ironic really, how the trouble-maker of the family didn't actually like getting in trouble.

"I'm not! I promise! You can tell dad and let him punish me for life if I am! Just, _come on!_ " Mikey wailed, tugging at his brother's arm, trying to drag him out of his comforting bed.

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Leo complied, jumping out of bed, seeing how freaked out his youngest brother was about whatever situation they had gotten themselves into.

He knew he was going to regret getting himself into this.

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"I found the lighter!" Donnie exclaimed, him being the tallest, was able to grab the lighter in the top cabinet if he stood on a chair with his tippy-toes.

"Good, bring it here!" Raph commanded, trying to calm down his jittering nerves, but failing. The memory of past events were still so fresh, and when Donnie went out of the room to find the lighter, he felt like the demon may be in the room, watching him, right behind him. But he didn't dare look back. He just tried to focus on the footsteps of Donnie and the frantic commands of Mikey pulling Leo out of bed. Dwelling on the fact his brothers were here was the only thing that stopped him from passing out from a panic-attack.

He didn't even know if Leo would even believe them, after their argument and the pranks that he and Mikey had played on him in past times. For the first time, he regretted not listening to Leo and just letting things go. They could have just watched a movie, but instead they went ahead with what was suppose to be a game, and get threatened by a demon! And Raph didn't realize how scary this moment would be until it actually happened.

Thumps of footsteps came rushing down the hall, and he was greeted by the sight of his younger brother practically dragging Leo to the room.

"Leo! Over there, the paper! Burn it, get rid of it already! I never want to see it again!" Mikey exclaimed, and Raph could have sworn the saw tears in his brother's eyes, but they didn't dare to fall. Like a sudden earthquake no one could predict, guilt swallowed him, trapping him in it, and leaving him at its mercy. Just thinking about how his youngest brother would either get no sleep or a restless one hour sleep for who knows how long drove him crazy. He didn't mean for _this_ to happen. And how were they going to explain being afraid of going to shower or anywhere for that matter alone now? It was going to be a long few days, or even longer for that matter.

"Okay, I'm going!" Leo obeyed, running to the paper. "Raph, this better not be a trick. You know how many times Splinter told us to play with fire. We can get hurt, or our house can get burned and we'll have nowhere to live." Leo chided, glaring at his immediate younger brother. Maybe he was exaggerating just a little, but it could happen, and sometimes the only way to convince his brothers was to scare them. How else were they going to listen to him?

"I know Leo, just please, set it on fire already!" Raph pleaded. Even when he was young, his rule was never to show weakness. Well, this was one of the times to break the rules. He already broke most of them, anyways.

Leo was mildly surprised on how desperate Raphael had sounded, but more focused on the task than anything. As if seeing his brothers so panicked the way they were made him realize how bad this situation was. Especially when seeing fear by _Raph._

"Okay…where's the lighter?" Leo asked hesitantly, but firmly grasped the advanced match when Donnie shakily handed it to him.

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm going to get so in trouble if Splinter finds out." Leo nervously mumbled to himself, but it was barely audible

Pressing down the switch that triggered the flame, he slowly brought his hand right above the paper. Leo realized this was the first time he was using a lighter without adult supervision. If he or one of his brothers got hurt, there wasn't going to be any grownup to be there to save the day, unlike his birthday.

But that didn't matter, right? He was a big boy now, he could use a simple lighter. Plus, his brothers were scared, and as their oldest brother, he was suppose to make them feel better, right? Yeah, he was.

Leo brought the lighter closer to the paper, so close that now the flame licked the sheet, eventually swallowing it. The paper curled, folded and unfolded, slowly turning to the darkest shades of black. Smoke curled in the air, making the perfect streamers. If the moon ever died, Leo was sure this was how it would look like.

As the paper shrunk, his brothers seemed to relax, shoulders becoming less tense, breath more even. But the panic and fear in their eyes never vanished. Leo began to wonder what exactly happened to them, and how terrifying the actual experience was. For once, Leo was actually glad he got embarrassed and left to his room. He wanted to keep his brothers safe, he really did, but this looked way to horrifying and traumatic than he would have liked to experience.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, overpowering the soft sizzling sound coming from the dying paper.

 _Yamete!_

All four brothers froze, still as a statue, as the furious voice boomed throughout the room, conquering any silence hiding in the corners. The group of quartets may have not fluently understand Japanese, but they certainly knew when such a word was spoken so fiercely, it was not good.

"What are you doing, playing with fire? What have I told you about that? It's dangerous! What if you have hurt yourself, or each other, and destroyed our house! You know better!" Splinter scolded, leaving no chance for any ifs, ands or buts, and if smoke could come out of his ears, they four brothers would be chocking on it.

Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey just stood there, shamefully bowing their heads. Their voice wouldn't work, it was held on pause. The fury was the only thing from keeping the room dead quiet.

"Well, explain. What is the meaning of this?" And like a volcano, explanations exploded, all combining to summarize the whole situation.

"So we were playing Charlie, Charlie-"

"And Leo chickened out so he went in his room-"

"So we decided to just play by ourselves-"

"And it totally worked, the pencils moved on its own, Daddy-"

"But then we asked it if it would hurt us, and it said yes-"

"And it was so creepy so I went to get Leo because he was the only one who knew who to get the lighter-"

"Oh yeah, to break the curse you have the break the pencils and burn the paper-"

"So Raph broke the pencils while I got the lighter-"

"So I convinced Leo to come-"

"And he burned the paper-"

"And that's when you came in." Donnie finished.

Splinter could honestly not tell which of his sons said what, but he did know this was completely unacceptable.

"So not only did you disobey me once you disobeyed me twice, by doing the dangerous games the surface plays. I am greatly disappointed in you boys. You know better."

"Sorry, dad." The boys sadly said in unison.

Go to bed, we'll talk about your punishment in the morning, it is late." Splinter scolded.

"Yes, Dad." The four brothers sighed simultaneously, bowing their heads, dragging their feet to their room.

Once far enough, Mikey mumbled under his breath, "This is so unfair! What, does he want an evil demon to hurt us? Because if I was a dad, I wouldn't want that to happen to my kids!"

" _Sh,_ he might here you. We don't want to get more in trouble than we already are." Leo whispered.

"Sorry." Mikey murmured back.

"Hey Leo, why didn't you tell Dad that it wasn't your fault?" Donnie asked under his breath.

"Well I was the one who set the paper on fire. And its not like it would have mattered, he saw me participate, so he would say I deserve to be punished anyways." Leo sighed.

They made the rest of their trip in silence, replaying the day's events in their heads. It didn't seem real, really, what had happened today. It seemed like it belonged in a nightmare, or a horror movie, but not in reality. And certainly not to _them_ , of all creatures.

Arriving the youngest of the Hamato clan's door, Mikey turned around, facing his brothers. "Who are you guys trying to fool? You all know we are way too crept out to sleep by ourselves, so drop the act. So who's room are we sleeping in?"

Donnie, Leo, and Raph, just stood there, wide eyed, mouth agape, staring at Mikey. Not only did he speak what was on his mind, he spoke what everyone was thinking. Just another creepy thing to add on today's list. Yeah, definitely not a day they would ever forget.

"Alright, let's go sleep in mine's." Leo sighed after a while, dragging his brothers along with him as they turned the other way to head to his room.

And knowing they would be together tonight, that made the thought of going to bed in the dark just a little more bearable.

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A paper was set in front of him, neatly cut into four squares by grey pencil lines. _Yes, no, yes, no._ Two pencils were balanced on each other, the bottom one horizontal, the top one vertical. The match was next to the paper, and an empty quiet filled the air.

Should he really be doing this? Would it really worked like his sons said, even if he put a twist to it? If it did work, and once he burned the paper, would a fire start? A silly fear, yes, but one small flame unexpectedly took the life of his family. It could do it again.

But, if his plan did work, he would be given a miracle. And raising these kids while battling the fear of losing a loved one just a few minutes ago really was a cause for a miracle.

Why not try? It was just a twist. Could a name really make any difference? Would it really work?

It was time to find out.

"Tang Chen, Tang Chen, are you here?"

. . .

 _Yes._

 **And there you have it! The game would make more sense if you saw it on Youtube or personally know/done it. I personally believe in this, but if you don't, don't flame. Hope you liked it either way! I know, weird to make a story out of this, but I thought of it and had to write it! So what?**

 **So yeah, this, and Return of the Parasitica was suppose to come out yesterday, as I told some of you, but I sort of…fellasleepwhilewritingthis! Can you blame me, it was midnight, and I was basically swimming the whole day! I was tired! But yeah, sorry this is late, Return of Parasitica coming out later!**

 **See ya, my amazing people, stay awesome! ;)**


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